In the fieldwork I had previously conducted around the world, I often stumbled upon people who live among nature and attempt to earnestly communicate with their surroundings. With a slight premonition of such an encounter, I arrived in Lapland, also known as Sameland, where many Sami people live.

(From SAMELAND, text by Nao Tsuda)

Nao Tsuda, without any doubt one of the ‘furthest’ travelers among us who share contemporary Japanese society in common, constantly travels to the fringes of the globalized world. By the fringes I mean the places far from the efficiency and functions of the urban space, especially the places as remote as possible from the self-centering workings of the capital. Simply put, he goes to places where few people live. The fewness of number, paradoxical as it may seem, protects humanity’s central traditions. How many such place names have he mentioned to me so far?